One of the greatest gifts I received at the AD show was talking with artists from the MADE gallery…their passion for creating beauty, in a world where there is too much emphasis on the superficial and a general lack of understanding for the artistic process, lifted me to a higher place…their work fed my soul…with each conversation, my respect and admiration grew…they live and breathe the creative process…forever exploring…forever growing…forever evolving…

Let us begin with a closer look at 6 of the many gifted artists I had the pleasure of getting to know…

“Devin Burgess intensively works vessels that have been expertly blown with off-center necks and arranged to maximize the interplay and tension of their graceful forms. Surfaces are elaborately wheel-cut, or, cross-hatched with cane to take drawing techniques into three dimensions. This is notable work that defies expectations of symmetry while finding new harmony through refined execution as it blurs the boundaries between design and sculpture.” ~ The GLASS Quarterly Hot Sheet

Click here to watch a fascinating video of Devin talk about his work and his creative process

“I create my own fiberglass cloth by crocheting continuous strands of fiberglass into flat geometric shapes. These are formed and hardened with the application of polyester resin and the use of gravity. Small finished units are sewn together with fiberglass into medium sized blocks which assemble to form a larger unit or grid structure.

Using traditional methods, I create artwork that has been contemporized by the use of industrial materials, mathematics, and the language of art and architecture. This work engages math, an underlying principle in all of life, as a structural foundation by utilizing the grid, prime numbers, the Fibonacci sequence, the numbers Pi and e, and Pascal’s triangle.

The sculptures refer to dialogues dealing with the nature of being human, of individual and collective identity. The “Identity Sequence” Series considers identity codes: internal patterns that code the individual, external codes, and individuals and masses.

Math is inseparable from nature, from us. Numbers represent the human search for knowledge, as the search for numbers went on for thousands of years. The material and process itself speaks to identity. A body of crochet resonates culture, society, history, tradition, labor, time. The work is as much about process as it is about identity. Process of making, process of questioning, process of abstracting. Identity issues are a tool within the process of finding a new form.” ~ Yvette Kaiser Smith

Texas born Charles A. Johnson has been restoring stone and metal for over 9 years. His specialty is the outdoor garden ornament; repair in stone and fine finishes on metals. During this time, Johnson has had first hand experience of seeing the seasonal effects on outdoor ornament in the Northeast. Most of his clients are in Westchester County, NY and Greenwich, CT; but, there are objects that he has restored all over the US. He has done restoration work for Barbara Israel Garden Antiques, Bunny Williams, Treillage, Steve Abeles of Balsamo Antiques, Marty Shapiro of Finnegan Gallery, and Steve Rose of Rose Garden Antiques.

Other than restoration, Johnson also creates one of a kind decorative accessory indoor/outdoor sculpture. Last year Johnson won Best in Show for his Quince at Gallery 364 in Brooklyn, NY. His training in classical sculpture combined with his experience in restoration, make these mineral based sculptures weather ready and things of timeless and universal beauty. Showcasing simple form in a noticable way is Johnson’s goal. He strives to present organic objects in a heroic manner thus bringing attention to usually unnoticed form. These pieces have archival life, are signed and numbered and the purchaser will receive a certificate of authenticity directly from Johnson.

These sculptures are designed and hand made completely by Johnson, in America. Because he has been working with superb restoration materials, these sculptures are made from only the finest materials around. No polymers, acrylics, resins, fiberglass or GFC is used in Johnson’s all mineral based sculptures. Imperfections in these sculptures are intentional and are sometimes designed to trick the eye; culminating from Johnson’s intense study and work in the profession of antique garden ornament restoration.

Each piece is unique because of how the material is hand laid into the molds and hand stained. These pieces are not mass produced. Johnson has sculpted prototypes for garden ornament reproduction, worked at Studio EIS in Brooklyn, NY and worked as an assistant on The Leonardo Da Vince Horse at Tallix in Beacon, NY under sculptor Nina Akamu. Johnson trained under sculptor T.J. Dixon of S. California for many years before earning a masters degree in figurative sculpture from The Graduate School of Figurative Art of The New York Academy of Art in 1997. He has private commission sculpture in Hong Kong, Boston, Dallas and San Diego. With over 25 years of related experiences, Johnson also holds a certification for stone restoration from Cathedral Stone in Hanover, MD.

“My current work consists of still life botanical photographs made without the use of a camera. Using locally found organic subject matter I express nature’s forms in clean minimalist lines, muted tones, subtle shadows, and the play of interacting shapes.

Cameraless photography is a historic process in which light-sensitive paper is exposed in direct contact with an object. Combining this early photography method with 21st-century technology is the basis for my work.

My unique still life prints of botanical subjects present a dynamic, contemporary interpretation of a classic theme.” ~ Christine Triebert

Paul Sunday lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. A former actor and performance artist, Paul shifted his emphasis to photography in the late ’80s and began painting in 1995. He describes his work as “fragility, erasure, impermanence. I’m interested in borders where genres and disciplines overlap and function as hybrid practice. I am influenced by cities, water, empty rooms, and silence. My paintings grow out of a lifelong obsession with light.” ~ Paul Sunday

Pamela Sunday makes hand built ceramic sculptures inspired by nature and science. She is known for her meticulous craftsmanship and for testing the limits of her chosen materials both in surface and form. Sunday lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.